


Johnny Cakes and Disney Princesses

by juem87



Series: Picking Up the Pieces [6]
Category: Twisted (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-25
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-24 14:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/941262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juem87/pseuds/juem87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lacey and Danny tell Jo and Rico about their relationship. Continues from Telling Karen and Embarrassing Danny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Johnny Cakes and Disney Princesses

It's Sunday morning, a little after 10 AM. Lacey and Danny are sitting next to each other in a corner booth of Johnny Cakes Diner sharing a chocolate chip waffle that they've drowned in syrup. The diner is filled with various older adults and families with small children enjoying a late breakfast before heading off to the local park to enjoy the surprisingly warm sunny day. Lacey and Danny are waiting on the arrival of their friends (or more like acquaintances on Lacey's part), Jo and Rico.

In a couple of hours the atmosphere of the diner will change from calm and peaceful to rowdy as it fills with teenagers finally waking up from their drunken stupors to meet up with friends. Lacey plans the meeting for this time to avoid that crowd. The last thing her and Danny need is Scott and the other guys from the soccer team throwing insults and making rude comments while they try to have this conversation with Jo and Rico. Things have been better between Danny and his teammates, but they're still far from perfect, though Cole does his best to make Danny feel included.

"You know caffeine stunts your growth. I've always wanted a boyfriend that was at least six feet tall," Lacey says glancing at Danny then up at the ceiling, presumably fantasizing about said boyfriend, hands held tight around her mug of hot chocolate.

"Well, you're just going to have to settle for one that's a little shorter than that." Danny nudges her as he takes a sip of his coffee. It's with two creams and no sugar, just the way he likes it.

Lacey wrinkles her nose. "You could at least put some sugar in that. You dumped half the bottle of syrup on our waffle, but don't take sugar in your coffee. That doesn't make sense." Lacey then takes a bite of the waffle. There isn't much left and she's claiming the last of it for herself.

"What can I say? I'm made up of contradictions," Danny replies moving the waffle to his side of the table, effectively putting it out of her reach.

"Hey, I was going to finish that!" The annoyance is clear on her face.

"I know you were," Danny says after taking a bite of the stolen waffle. "I'm going to starve to death with you around," he continues having taken another mouthful. He looks at her accusingly, his eyes implying that she wants him to starve to death.

Lacey laughs allowing him his small victory. "Next time I'm getting my own waffle." She watches as he finishes off the plate, going as far as licking the fork clean. She's pushing away thoughts of what that tongue could be doing to her body when she asks, "Are we going to tell Jo about Tara's death?" She senses a shift in the mood, from playful to serious, and almost regrets bringing up the subject.

"I don't want to tell her, Lace. She's the only one of us with the picturesque home life and I don't want to ruin that for her." There's sadness in his eyes when he looks at her.

Lacey strokes her hand up and down his thigh in a comforting gesture. "I understand that, but you can't keep protecting her from the truth. Eventually she's going to demand that you tell her what happened. It might not be for awhile, but sometime in the future. What are you going to do then?"

"I don't know. We'll deal with it when the time comes," he says looking at her, his eyes telling her in no uncertain terms that she'll be involved when it happens. There's no facet of his life closed off to her now.

Lacey nods her head, keeping her hand on his knee as she takes a sip from her mug.

"How are you dealing with what I told you about your dad?" Danny asks placing his hand on top of hers. "We didn't get a chance to talk about it yesterday."

Lacey sighs. "Honestly... I don't know," she says shrugging her shoulders while looking down at the table. "I'm... disappointed. I can't say I'm shocked because I don't really know my dad. He was always so distance from Clara and me. Even before the divorce, he was always working and when he was home he didn't take much interest in us other than asking about school and homework." Her face is sad as she admits this. Growing up she had always wanted a deeper relationship with her father, but he didn't seem to care. Eventually she just gave up trying.

"I'm sorry, Lace," Danny says ghosting a caress along her cheek. He watches as she lifts her head shaking it lightly, as if literally trying to dislodge her sadness. When she looks back at him her eyes are brighter, but he can still see the lingering sadness.

"I should be the one comforting you, Danny. Not the other way around. How are you?" She wants to take the attention off of herself for a while, but is also genuinely concerned about his mental and emotional wellbeing.

"I'm fine," he says. She makes a face obviously not believing his statement. "Really I am. Since coming back I've learned to live with everyone thinking I'm a monster." Danny says this lightly, but Lacey can make out the pain that he's trying not to show.

"No one can get use to living like that," she says unconsciously moving closer to provide him with more physical comfort.

"I'll have to." Danny glances down briefly then back up into her eyes. Lacey wants to tell him that he's wrong. That once the police find Regina's murderer and more time has passed, people in Green Grove will come to realize that he isn't who they've made him out to be. She doesn't get the chance though, because Jo and Rico choose that moment to make their entrance.

"You guys look like you're having an intense conversation," Jo says sliding into the booth. Rico follows her taking the outer portion of the seat.

Danny and Lacey scoot away from each other, turning to face their guests. "No, we were just talking," Danny says clearing his throat, smiling a little, hoping to distract her. Jo raises an eyebrow but doesn't question him any further about their earlier body language and facial expressions.

"Hey, Rico," he continues once he's confident that Jo has dropped the subject.

"Hey," Rico replies reaching for a menu. "I'm starving. What did you guys have?" Rico had slept in this morning, coming straight to the diner upon waking. It's his usual routine to sleep in on Sunday mornings before having a big breakfast with his family and meeting Jo later in the day to study. He's willing to change things up though if it means spending more time with Jo.

"We shared a chocolate chip waffle." Danny says nodding his head in Lacey's direction. "It was gre-"

"So why'd you want to meet here so early?" Jo asks interrupting him midsentence. Considering Danny's track record with secret keeping and revealing she doesn't have a good feeling about this meeting. She doesn't understand where Lacey fits in, though, and why it's something that he and Lacey, together, have to tell her. Jo glares at the other girl immediately widening her eyes when Lacey turns to face her.

Lacey glances back at Danny, and Jo watches as they share a meaningful look. Her stomach beings to tighten and completely bottoms out when she hears Danny say, "We wanted to let you guys know that we're dating."

They smile at each other and then look back at Jo and Rico waiting on their reactions. The shocked silence that follows is understandable but, none the less, disheartening.

"Wow, you guys are dating!" Rico awkwardly blurts out finally, breaking the silence. "That's great," he continues shooting not so subtle glances in Jo's direction, trying to gauge whether she's okay. "You're like Aladdin and Princess Jasmine... except Lacey isn't a princess and Danny isn't exactly street trash." He says just to fill the silence while flailing his arms lightly, making the statement that much more awkward. He's still very much uncomfortable with silent pauses in conversations.

"My hair is definitely as awesome as Aladdin's," Danny replies fake thoughtful expression on his face. Lacey makes an odd face at Rico's reaction before chuckling at Danny's response. She knows for a fact that Danny's hair is better than Aladdin's.

"I didn't take you for being a fan of Disney Princess movies, Rico," Lacey says teasing the already embarrassed boy. She thinks Rico is okay. He's very awkward, but he seems like a nice enough guy and good friend to Jo.

"I'm not!" Lacey smiles as the blush on Rico's cheeks deepen. "When I babysit my little cousin she makes me watch the movies," he says quickly defending his manly honor.

"What about you Jo? What do you think? Aladdin... Princess Jasmine?" Danny asks pointing first to himself then to Lacey. Jo hasn't spoken since their confession, choosing instead to stare blankly ahead, closing the rest of the world out.

"I have to go," she says finally breaking from her trance to all but push Rico from the booth as she escapes from their presence.

Danny stands to follow her, but Lacey stops him. "I'll go," she says hand on his arm as she looks toward the door. She steps out of Johnny Cakes looking in either direction hoping to catch a glimpse of Jo. She sees the girl hurrying down the street and jogs to catch up with her.

 "Jo, wait!" She stops the girl with a hand on her shoulder and is shocked when Jo turns around forcefully shoving her hand away.

"I always knew Danny liked you better. When we were kids, he always did things for you that he never did for me," Jo all but shouts at Lacey. "I was hoping that it would be different now that we're older, that he would like me better for once." Jo's voice breaks toward the end of her rant, emphasizing the hurt their relationship has caused her.

"Jo, it isn't about Danny liking me better," Lacey scoffs, eyes narrowing slightly. "He and I have feelings for each other that extend beyond friendship. It's different than your relationship with him, different, not better or worse. You and he are still friends."

"I don't want to just be his friend," Jo shouts at Lacey before storming off to continue in her previous direction. The people on the street stop to stare at the sudden commotion, but soon go about their business when Lacey simply turns back toward the entrance of Johnny Cakes.

"What happened?" Danny asks the minute she returns to the booth.

Lacey shakes her head. She doesn't want to tell Danny anything that was said during their conversation. She and Jo haven't been friends for a very long time, but telling the girl's secrets still doesn't sit right with Lacey. "She's upset," she finally decides on saying.

"Why? What did she say?" He is confused and worried by Jo's reaction. He expected her to be upset after learning that he and Lacey had been dating secretly for weeks (not counting their break up) without telling her, but for her to be upset that they're dating period is beyond him.

"I think you should talk to her, Danny, but not right now. Give her some time to cool off. Maybe approach her at school tomorrow," Lacey says gently, knowing that there is no way for her to fix this situation. Jo and Danny have to work through it on their own for the sake of their friendship.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Rico says speaking for the first time since Lacey reentered the diner. "I'm going to go see if I can find her." He gathers his things and leaves waving goodbye on his way out.

"Well, that didn't go the way I thought it would." Danny tips his head back against the seat clearly frustrated with the situation.

"Not at all," Lacey responds, unhappy at his look of defeat. "Let's get out of here. We can go to your house, watch a movie. Try to get our minds off this for a bit. I'm sure everything will be fine after you talk to Jo tomorrow." She isn't sure about that at all, but she says it anyway to comfort him.

"That sounds like a good idea," he says smiling at her. The smile doesn't reach his eyes, but it's a start. They throw some money down on the table and walk out of the diner. Lacey's aim of the day becomes cheering Danny up.  

\---

Jo is the first person that Danny seeks out upon arriving to school the next day. He finds her at her locker packing her backpack for her morning classes. "Jo," he says walking up behind her.

She gives a start, surprised by his sudden appearance. "You scared me," she says hand to her chest. "Put some bells on would you?" Her smile is small, eyes sad as she looks at him. She wants to be mad at him, at both of them for having feelings for each other, but she can't. It would be ridiculous of her. You can't choose where your heart lies.

"Sorry," Danny replies, eyes concerned, "Look we need to talk."

Jo sighs looking up at the ceiling. "Danny, I like you. That's why I was so upset yesterday." She looks at him before continuing, "I know you don't think of me that way. I know you have strong feelings for Lacey. That's fine. This is my problem. I just need some time to get it out of my system, okay?" She had been thinking about the situation all night, even telling her mother and crying on the woman's shoulder. The night had been cathartic. She's reached a level of acceptance. She's sad, but she knows there's nothing she can do but move on.

"Oh," Danny says surprised by her confession, "Okay." His eyebrows are raised high on his forehead and he is slightly slack-jawed as he watches her walk away.

Jo turns around suddenly to ask, "Can you apologize to Lacey for me? I kind of went off on her yesterday." She doesn't give any further explanation or wait for his response as she continues down the hallway.

Danny stares after her silently praying that their friendship can move past this. He needs both his best friend and his girlfriend to survive living in this town.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a big fan of Jo Masterson. I hope that didn't come through in the way I wrote her. I know a majority of people believe that Danny knows Jo has a crush on him, but it's my thinking, at least for this story/series, that he's so infatuated with Lacey that he doesn't notice Jo likes him. Just like Jo is so infatuated with him that she doesn't notice that Rico likes her. He smiles at her in the story to distract her because he knows he has a great smile.
> 
> The idea for the Aladdin reference came from fandom. I saw a post in the Dacey tag on tumblr.


End file.
